Chapter 44: The Prince and the Push-Ups
It started as a perfectly normal morning in the palace courtyard—birds chirping, banners flapping gently in the breeze, and a group of palace guards stretching for their daily training session.
Until Prince Kimo showed up.
The guards immediately stiffened. Most had never heard the prince speak to them directly, let alone volunteer to join training.
"I would like to spar with you all," Kimo said with a calm, regal voice.
The captain blinked. "Uh... Your Highness, with respect, are you sure?"
"Yes," Kimo replied, pulling off his outer robe with dramatic flair. "And I shall lead today's drills."
Whispers erupted among the guards.
"Did he just say lead?"
"I think so…"
"Is he smiling or smirking? I can't tell."
"I think he's both."
The training began… and quickly spiraled into a nightmare.
"Fifty push-ups. On one hand," Kimo said coolly.
The guards looked at each other in terror.
"Uh, sir, we usually do... ten."
"Did I ask what you usually do?" Kimo replied, arms already crossed.
Groans and grunts followed as the guards flopped around on the ground, limbs shaking, trying to mimic the prince's effortless one-handed push-ups. One poor soul kept rolling sideways.
Then came the running drills.
"Three laps. No, five. No—ten!"
"My prince, the courtyard is huge!"
"Exactly."
Oki watched from the shade of the archway, struggling to contain her laughter. Kimo caught her smirking and raised an eyebrow.
"You think I'm being too harsh?" he called.
Oki chuckled. "Not at all, my prince. I just hope you're ready for tomorrow's complaints of sore bones."
Midway through sword drills, one guard dropped his wooden blade and whispered, "I don't know if I'm honored… or traumatized."
But surprisingly, by the end of it all, the guards were beaming. Sweaty, bruised, gasping for air—but weirdly proud.
"I survived the prince's training," one guard said, thumping his chest.
"I almost kept up with him!" another added.
Kimo, brushing off his sleeves, gave a nod of approval. "You all did well. I might make this weekly."
The guards paled.
"Weekly…?"
From the balcony above, King Ryon watched it all, arms folded and a wide grin on his face. For once, he looked at his son not with pressure or expectation—but pride.
"That's my boy," he muttered under his breath.
Just then, Kimo turned to the guards again. "Next time, we add water buckets. On your heads."
The captain fainted.
Oki laughed so hard she had to lean on the wall for support.
And for the first time in a long while… the palace echoed with joy.
---
To be continued....